The Time Machine by HG Wells – author of War of The Worlds, my note on it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/03/war-of-worlds-by-h-g-wells-once-upon.html where I have thousands of other reviews - 8 out of 10

 

The Time Machine by HG Wells – author of War of The Worlds, my note on it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/03/war-of-worlds-by-h-g-wells-once-upon.html where I have thousands of other reviews

 

8 out of 10

 

 

HG Wells some of the best-known books in Science Fiction, and in general, five of them are on the list of 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, and on a rather new compilation, mentioned in The Economist, greatest books of all time, where there is an algorithm, and the site is taking into account relevant criteria

 

One of the most important is The War of The Worlds, which has caused a furor, panic, multitudes have tried to escape when it was first aired, about one hundred years ago, it was adapted as a play, directed by another, just as famous Welles, only this one had a different spelling of the name, albeit I am not sure if a different pronunciation as well

The public listened to the account of the arrival of a mysterious aircraft, which turns out to be the vessel of Martians, who have landed on earth – I think it was New Jersey, but why I believe that, I have no idea – and they prove to be malevolent, and ergo the folks pack up and run in hysteria, only to find that it was fiction

 

I have had another look at The Time Machine https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-time-machine-based-on-hg-wells.html and wrote another note in 2018, the notion of time travel is clearly very attractive, and at the start of the novel, we have a sort of quasi scientific look at the concept, the space dimensions

There are three dimensions of space, but it is suggested that time would be the fourth, and why not conceive a machine that allows you to travel in time, it is there, in the title, and obviously, in the book, where a character has invented and used it, providing readers with the access into the adventures that result from this sort of travel

 

There are evident objections to the hypothesis that we could travel in time, one being that if we go back, then changes would occur and you could not possibly alter events, just like we see in one of the most liked comedy, science fiction films, Back to The Future https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/06/back-to-future-written-by-bob-gale-and.html

The hero travels Back to The Future and meets his father, who is rather shy, some would say a loser, and far from getting near the would be mother, on the contrary, he is bullied and pushed around, so that it is a most unlikely union, so we have another way of looking at the problem, the time traveler is there to fix things…

 

Without his getting there, in the past, he would not be conceived, because his father would not make the right moves, it is his son who solves the problems, although there are situations when the main character fades away, as in the scenario where he is not born after all, what with his lame, undetermined father…

On the one hand, we realize that a Time Machine is an impossibility, on the other, I would refer, as I often do here, to the classic of Psychology, Flow https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-this-is.html and the proof that when we get in The Zone, time becomes relative, as Albert Einstein has discovered

 

On the question of ‘classic’, there is an article in The Economist – I mention it again – that looks at the fact that classics change, the example of the Mona Lisa is used, the most famous painting in the world, the epitome of the classic, had not been one, before it was stolen, but because of that news, voila, we have discovered Gioconda

Moby Dick https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/04/moby-dick-or-whale-by-herman-melville.html had been in an obscure area, forgotten, until was re-discovered and presto, we again celebrate a magnum opus, although for some reasons (mainly because I just don’t get it) I failed to enjoy it, never mind put it on my list of favorites

 

In another book, I have read that memory is such a blessing, what with reminiscing, as part of the positive therapy, and we can travel in time that way, with the caveat that longing for the past too much is counterproductive, look at Orange Jesus, who has almost fifty percent of the chances to be the most powerful man in the world

However, together with reminiscing, there is ‘imagine the best possible future’ as a rule of happiness, and another way to get ahead in time, if a limited version and then we have ‘Happiness Activity No 11: Practicing Religion and Spirituality- becoming more involved in your church, temple or mosque or reading and pondering spiritually themed books’

 

You find this in the -should we say classic – The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, which is a disputed concept, maybe I will get to why, but being religious could offer the perfect Time Machine, with projections of a future in heaven

Believers have this image in front of them, of paradise, Saint Peter waiting at the gates, offering access, and the alternative, you have not been good, and then there is the other place, hot and heavy, where Orange Jesus is going – if there is divine justice – with transfiguration, redemption, prayer, faith and playing by the book

I have seen a documentary in which an expert from Oxford spoke about the new arrogance of the atheists, and he had a point there, for as one who does not believe, I realized that I tend to rather dismiss the ones who do not see the evidence, and I could be wrong

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”